The Washington Post has released its latest example of rigorous investigative journalism, setting out to determine whether President Trump has chosen the correct shade of blue for the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
A D.C. district court judge spent an afternoon trying to parse just how blue “American Flag Blue” — the color that President Trump selected for the fresh paint job in the Reflecting Pool — could be.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 28, 2026
Here’s what we found: https://t.co/LpDfByq2rD pic.twitter.com/76WDuyMLLK
"Last Thursday in a Washington courtroom, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols spent the afternoon trying to parse just how blue 'American Flag Blue' could be," the article titled, "Did Trump pick the right blue for the Reflecting Pool? We asked a pool guy," began.
The left has made a significant amount of noise over what should be a simple renovation project. Not only have they criticized it heavily on social media and accused the president of wasting taxpayer money, but a left-leaning law firm has also sued the administration, temporarily halting the repainting of the Reflecting Pool as lawyers for the Cultural Landscape Foundation argue that their client has suffered an “aesthetic injury” from the paint job.
As the Washington Post uncovered:
Blue is a color we associate with injury: Think of the mottled black and blue of a bruise. It is the color of authority and stereotypical masculinity; of depression, but also tranquility; of cleanliness; of cold; of winning first prize. And so we must ask: What is American Flag Blue?
🚨 NOW: President Trump’s hired workers are BUSY BEAUTIFYING and painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 25, 2026
A beautiful American flag blue! 🇺🇸
47 is saving us HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of tax dollars that would’ve been spent on fixing it up.
Democrats can’t… pic.twitter.com/gsehGPWTxi
But according to the Washington Post's research and several experts, this may be a mistake.
Just because American Flag Blue looks good on a flag, it doesn’t mean it will necessarily look good slathered on a length of more than 2,000 feet, says Jill Morton, a professional color consultant.
“The context of a color is what matters,” says Morton. “That dark blue, if it is that dark, oh man, that’s going to look very, very dismal.”
Some critics even said it could end up making the Reflecting Pool look like a massive swimming pool, something many liberals argue would make a mockery of the monument. In response, the Washington Post consulted a swimming pool expert who put those rumors to rest.
Steve Goodale, who goes by “Swimming Pool Steve” online, is Canadian, so he doesn’t have a vested interest in the state of our Reflecting Pool. He has some good news.
“It’s not really going to end up looking like a swimming pool,” says Swimming Pool Steve.
Could American Flag Blue actually look ... good?
It’s “going to very likely be a more sharp and accurate reflection versus the original gray color,” says Goodale. “What you’re going to see is a higher contrast to the light of the sky and clouds.”
Again, it is the epitome of investigative journalism, leading any fair-minded person to the same conclusion reached when the project was announced: that it really isn’t a big deal.
This is the left at its finest, making a big deal out of run-of-the-mill projects simply because President Trump is at the helm.
